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AUGUST 2018 | THE TECHNOLOGY ISSUE
EDITOR’S LETTER C
arl Sagan once observed, “We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.” Our Tech Issue is here to illuminate and enlighten our readers, and perhaps bridge the knowledge gap Sagan so presciently noted.
TOP VIDEOS
DOPE CHRONICLES WITH DAVID TRAN
Gary Vaynerchuk graces the cover of our inaugural Tech Issue. Vaynerchuk, the man, is literally a brand; an entrepreneurial celebrity, Vaynerchuk has developed a keen ability to see an opportunity, employ technology and use it to his advantage. He’s dipping his toes—or perhaps doing a cannonball—into the cannabis space, an industry he calls an “obnoxiously young business.” And he’s not wrong. It’s sink or swim for today’s cannabis entrepreneurs, and he doles out his notoriously straightforward advice on how businesses can succeed in the fledgling industry.
DAB WEEK We take a look at Mr Soul, the Brothers Grimm founder who created Cinderella 99 after meeting his business partner in an early Internet cannabis chatroom; spatial audio, three-dimensional sound from Envelop, a San Francisco nonprofit aiming to enhance live performances and virtual reality; and Foria Relief, cannabis suppositories and sublingual sprays redefining how we consume cannabis. We also get to the bottom of all things blockchain, the cyptocurrency platform you don’t quite understand and, at this point, are too afraid to ask about; microbrewery technology that’s changing the rapidly growing craft beer market; eSports, professional gaming tournaments where competitors win big money, but aren’t allowed to compete if they consume cannabis; Dr. John Zhang’s fertility advancements, which will allow couples to create a “three-person” baby with DNA from three different parents; and the future of Smart Cities, which operate on an “Internet of Things” to share information in real-time and keep bustling metropolises running smoothly. Technology doesn’t have to be scary—it shapes our daily lives, our identities, our future. We’re excited to share what we’ve learned.
A DAB A DAY
DOPE CUP AT DOPE LAND BIGGER THAN EVER
To view these and more DOPE videos, visit DOPEMAGAZINE.COM/VIDEOS
Stay DOPE! The DOPE Editorial Team
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DOPE MAGAZINE AUGUST 2018 | THE TECHNOLOGY ISSUE Gary Vaynerchuk—known to many as GaryVee—just may be the entrepreneur the cannabis world needs. After establishing himself in the wine industry, he created the marketing agency VaynerMedia and has become known for his straightforward style and authenticity. He believes in the power of social media and separating the pioneers from the hucksters, and tells us his advice for cannabis entrepreneurs trying to strike it rich in the Green Rush.
FOR GAME AND GLORY ESPORTS’ GROWING PAINS
DOES GOD NEED OUR HELP? HOW NEW TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING OUR CONCEPT OF FAMILY
DEFENDING OUR PLANT EVERYWHERE
SMART CITIES THE FUTURE OF TECH AND TRANSPORTATION
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EFENDING UR LANT VERYWHERE As a lifestyle publication, DOPE Magazine is dedicated to creating purposeful, relevant conversations. We’ve built a steadfast framework of inclusivity when speaking about gender, race, class, politics, family and culture—with the ethos DEFEND. At DOPE, we don’t just defend our plant, but our people, patients and planet. Our highly curated content continues to focus on those who maintain a relationship with— and advocate on behalf of—cannabis. While cannabis remains the central theme of our brand, it is our belief that creating conversations about real people and relatable experiences is the best way to normalize the role that cannabis plays in society. Our aim is to continue to illuminate issues that deserve our attention and must be addressed if we wish to both promote and create change. We are grateful for your time, we welcome your feedback and are ever appreciative of your participation and dedication in creating positive, lasting change in the cannabis community.
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T H E T EC H N O LO GY I S S U E
TABLE OF CONTENTS
AUGUST
FEATURES 030 MEDICINE
DOES GOD NEED OUR HELP?
HOW NEW TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING OUR CONCEPT OF FAMILY 034 TECHNOLOGY
CRAFTING THE FUTURE OF BEER
THE TECHNOLOGY CHANGING CRAFT BREWING 036 TECHNOLOGY
BLOCKCHAIN: A PRIMER
THE REVOLUTIONARY TECHNOLOGY THAT POWERS CRYPTOCURRENCY 042 PRODUCT
CANNABIS CONSUMPTION GETS A MAKEOVER
NEW DELIVERY SYSTEMS WORTH TRYING IN 2018 046 FEATURE
FOR GAME AND GLORY ESPORTS’ GROWING PAINS 056 TECHNOLOGY
SMART CITIES
THE FUTURE OF TECH AND TRANSPORTATION 062 EDITOR’S CHOICE
DAVINCI IQ VAPORIZER
A VAPE SO GOOD IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM 064 DOPE SHOTS
DOPE PHOTO CONTEST
CONGRATULATIONS, KAITLIN MCMILLAN 066 PROFILE
THE FUTURE OF SOUND
AMPLIFY YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH ENVELOP 070 GROW
A CINDERELLA 99 STORY
HOW THE PROCESS OF CUBING PRESERVED A HERITAGE STRAIN 076 CULTURE
DOPE ON THE ROAD AMSTERDAM
080 #SCOUTEDBYDOPE
020 COVER FEATURE
GARY VAYNERCHUK
#SCOUTEDBYDOPE
BURNING CASH ON THE BEST NEW GADGETS
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THE NOSTRADAMUS OF CANNABIS?
PHOTOGRAPHY GARYVAYNERCHUK.COM
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F E AT U R E
ANDREA LARSON
COURTESY OF GARYVAYNERCHUK.COM
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t’s 1994, and Gary Vaynerchuk is nineteen. He wraps up a game of “John Madden Football” and runs into the other room, where his ears are met with a cacophony of dial-up sounds. You know…pshhhkkkkkkrrrkakingkakingkakingtshchchchchchchchcchdingdingding. His friend is getting on the Internet, and, without so much as a pause, Gary has the realization that “he can sell shit on this thing.” Vaynerchuk’s ability to understand consumer behavior better than the average person is very real, and he’s built an empire that’s a testament to his entrepreneurial mind and work ethic. Vaynerchuk and his siblings were raised by two Belarusian immigrants who instilled in them the conviction that self-esteem and entitlement are not the same thing. Self-touted as a “lemonade stand and baseball card collector kid,” Vaynerchuk’s entrepreneurial spirit began at a young age. He’s keeping many fingers in many pots, the contents of which keep turning into gold. In May of 2018, Vaynerchuk purchased a 50 percent stake in the L.A.-based full-service creative house Green Street Agency, which works exclusively within the cannabis space. Upon hearing whispers of Gary’s cannonball into the cannabis pool, ears perked. As an early investor in Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook, his investment in the cannabis space feels very much like a prediction of the future success of this budding industry. But the reality is, Vaynerchuk admittedly knows very little about weed—for now. “My college friends are going to laugh their asses off that I am on the cover of your magazine, because their four-year quest in college was to get me to smoke a blunt with them,” Gary loudly states, his words punctuated by laughter. Mom and Dad? “My Mom was super-propaganda’d out by Nancy Reagan. I think right now, if you lie detector tested me, I would say my Mom would be like, ‘Mmmmmmmmm,’ and my Dad would be like, ‘He’s a genius—that’s gonna work out.’”
CANNABIS HAS AN IMAGE PROBLEM
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Insiders and outsiders alike agree that the cannabis industry has an image problem. When in 2006 Vaynerchuk launched Wine Library TV, a popular video blog in which he de-mystifies the beloved alcoholic beverage, his goal was to “break down the barriers, stereotypes and misperceptions that otherwise prevent people from exploring and enjoying the exciting and rewarding world of wine.” This sentiment rings eerily familiar to many of the concerns floating around the cannabis space. Can we look to Wine World TV as a model of what we could be doing in the cannabis space to not only normalize the plant, but remove barriers, stereotypes and misperceptions? Vaynerchuk states simply, “Cannabis is an obnoxiously young business—and industry.” He goes on to say that, unlike cannabis, wine has the luxury of having existed in the legal marketplace for centuries and a more mature footing as a consumer good, despite its bout of prohibition in the United States. “Among all of the strains and different flavors in the [cannabis] industry now, getting somebody who has actually tasted and tried them on that scale and can articulate the flavor profiles and nuances and the understanding of the subtleties needed to be that big voice . . . There are just not a lot of those animals running around at this point.” Vaynerchuk suggests that the arrival of that animal is inevitable, and will essentially just take some time. This sounds like a challenge: racers, start your engines.
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TO ME, IT’S VERY SIMPLE. LIFE IS ACTUALLY A MARATHON, SO WOULDN’T IT BE A GOOD IDEA TO TRAIN FOR A MARATHON?
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CANNABIS AS AN ENTREPRENEURIAL INCUBATOR When Gary and his brother AJ founded VaynerMedia, a modern-day ad agency, in 2009, they realized early on that corporate America was slow to pick up on content strategy trends. One of the numerous reasons why VaynerMedia is currently in the business of video production, social media and nonvideo content? VaynerMedia wanted to be able to support their clients outside of consulting. The ad agency’s household name clients include GE, Budweiser, Chase Bank, Toyota, to name a few. There is sincere curiosity as to whether or not the cannabis industry is making a similar mistake as corporate America. “No,” Vaynerchuk assures me. “I think cannabis, from my observation early on, is really good at [understanding content strategy trends], because there are such young entrepreneurs who are native to that communication.” Unlike almost ever y other industr y, cannabis is unable to advertise on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Google in all the ways they wish they could. Vaynerchuk actually thinks that “the cannabis industry is going to be the teacher of innovation” as it pertains to the creation and curation of content. As an industry and as “pure bread entrepreneurs,” we won’t have a choice but to lead as innovators in a hotbed. Whether justified or not, cautious and antiquated positions continue to reign supreme when it comes to marketing barriers aimed at cannabis businesses, brands and media companies. Vaynerchuk states authoritatively, “I am comfortable making this prediction: In 2040, cannabis companies are going to be the ones influencing the way diapers, tires, soda and shampoo are being sold.” In his view, being forced into unorthodox advertising strategies may result in cannabis brands becoming leaders in the future of marketing tactics.
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WHY ARE WE SPRINTING WHILE TRAINING FOR A MARATHON? Vaynerchuk often speaks to the importance of building one’s own brand. The average person gets so caught up in expansion, they fail to realize that they’re sprinting in the marathon that is life. “I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that I’m aware of a lot of people in the industry, and that my voice is uniquely beneficial to this industry because you have an enormous amount of people who are obnoxiously short-term,” Vaynerchuk states in a serious, take-my-advice tone. He spends an insane amount of time studying emerging markets. “I’m looking at the emerging gambling market, Supreme Court rulings, cryptocurrency and cannabis, and what’s happening in these markets is that, oftentimes, you get three to four percent pioneers and 96 percent hucksters, right? And there are an obnoxious [number] of hucksters in the cannabis industry now—because they like smoking weed, or they see it as a trend, and they want to cash in fast.” So, the question really becomes: do you want to be a pioneer or someone who shills questionable, low-value goods? Many would choose the former, and this is where Vaynerchuk’s advice comes in handy. “To me, it’s very simple. Life is actually a marathon, so wouldn’t it be a good idea to train for a marathon? It’s the framework—let’s be patient. Don’t invest all of your money in something that seems like, ‘This is a new formation of cannabis or hemp.’” Vaynerchuk likens this “sprint” to people chasing a lottery ticket. If you are in the cannabis space, start thinking about how the hell you’re going to stick around for 20 or 30 years. Vaynerchuk asserts this time and time again—that he’s constantly thinking about the long-term, the marathon. VaynerMedia secured its roots nine years ago, and now the company employs over 900 people and has made hundreds of millions in dollars. Vaynerchuk points to a few of his Silicon Valley colleagues, stating, “A lot of people started companies from 2009-2011, the same time I did—my homies in Silicon Valley who raised millions and millions of dollars . . . Those companies? They are now out of business. Too much short-term thinking.” Vaynerchuk’s advice if you’re in the cannabis space, or any space, for that matter: If you’re there for the lifestyle and not the business, then you shouldn’t be there at all.
DON’T CALL GARYVEE A PUNDIT, GURU OR MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER Vaynerchuk wants to be viewed for what he is. “I spend 85 percent of my time being an executive of a 900-person, four-office company. I respect execution too much [to be called a pundit or guru], only being a speaker or an author or a pundit is pontificating, and not doing,” Vaynerchuk shares pointedly. By his own admission he enjoys sharing his insights and predicting the future, but he gets to talk the talk because he’s walked the walk. “Very simply,” Vaynerchuk says, “I think it’s a lot better to take advice from someone that has done the thing they are fucking talking about . . . I have a lot of cynicism of someone who writes a business book who has [only] been a professor at Yale their whole lives.” Despite hundreds of Vaynerchuk’s interviews and speeches that can be found on the web, he doesn’t often share or get asked what the hell he does for fun. Yes, he loves working. “You can’t imagine how fucking fun my professional life is to me. I lived the first 20 years of my life scrutinized, and was told that I wasn’t going to make it. That became my strength,” Vaynerchuk states, reflecting on his youth. Despite his numerous haters, Vaynerchuk appears to be a hell of a nice guy. When he isn’t at a New York Jets game or spending time with his family—which he says is his favorite thing to do—you’ll find Vaynerchuk watching a documentary, listening to a podcast, shooting hoops or picking through other people’s throwaway items at a garage sale. “No joke, the thing that is most fun to me in the world is garage sale-ing. I like to buy things for a dollar and flip them on eBay for nine,” he states seriously. Vaynerchuk is on a mission. That mission? To make people understand that the quickest way to be unhappy in life is to allow someone else to dictate your emotions.
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NOTHING COMPARES TO
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MEDICINE
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LUNA REYNA
D O P E M AGA Z I N E .CO M
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istorically, anti-gay rhetoric has stood by the theory that same-sex relationships are ‘unnatural,’ as two men cannot give birth to a child, and neither can two women. The assumption is that the Judeo-Christian God meant only for a union between a man and a woman, and anything else is ‘sinful’ in God’s eyes—which is why two men or two women cannot conceive a child naturally. Well, according to fertility physician Dr. John Zhang at the New Hope Fertility Center, God got it wrong—and needs our help. In September of 2016, Dr. Zhang delivered the first “three-person baby” in Mexico. This breakthrough could change the future of childbearing and give those in the LGBTQIA community the opportunity to have children genetically related to parents unable to conceive sexually, as a heterosexual couple can. “One day, in a not so far away future, we can help God,” asserts Zhang. “God needs our help. We can have a two-sperm baby or a twoegg baby. That’s absolutely possible. When that happens, it will change people’s lives.” Dr. Zhang achieved this breakthrough using a procedure known as a spindle nuclear transfer. “If you take the cell of a chicken egg, human eggs have the same structure,” says Zhang, explaining the procedure. “The nucleus in the chicken egg is the egg yolk, and the cytoplasm are the egg shell and egg white. If you take the egg white from the donor egg and use the egg yolk from the patient, now you have a new egg. Then you introduce the sperm, and that’s called a ‘three-person.’” Zhang emphasized the ‘threeperson’—not ‘three-parent’—term, noting that, “‘Parent’ means you get to raise that child. ‘Three-person’ is more accurate.” The spindle nuclear transfer was originally meant for couples who carry genetic disorders such as Leigh Syndrome, which causes miscarriages by affecting the developing nervous system of the unborn child. But the procedure has potential applications outside those intended for heterosexual couples; it opens the door for same-sex couples to have children with both individual’s genes. But medical advances could offer other options for samesex couples. Advances in science, such as artificial sperm and artificial eggs, would get rid of a third person in question altogether. “Artificial sperm and eggs are already happening,” Dr. Zhang affirms. “It can be done. It will be done. Ethical issues and regulation aside—if we are just talking about purely science, it is possible. We are able to create artificial sperm, artificial eggs and artificial embryos . . . I think if it really is going to benefit mankind, sooner or later, it will become popular.”
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GOD NEEDS OUR HELP. WE CAN HAVE A TWO-SPERM BABY OR A TWO-EGG BABY. THAT’S ABSOLUTELY POSSIBLE. WHEN THAT HAPPENS, IT WILL CHANGE PEOPLE’S LIVES. –DR. JOHN ZHANG, NEW HOPE FERTILITY CENTER FERTILITY PHYSICIAN
”
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For the last twenty years, scientists have been developing what is called in-vitro gametogenesis— turning cells of the body into sperm or egg cells. This technology bypasses the ethical issues disputed with stem cell research and will change the way the world perceives everything from conception to childbearing, childrearing and family. The cells of someone born male could be turned into egg cells, and the cells of someone born female could be turned into sperm cells—arguably bringing the evolutionary cycle full circle. After all, according to Dr. Zhang, “From an evolutionary point of view, the Y chromosome is a degenerative chromosome from an X chromosome. So, if you are really talking about evolution and talking to a God, God created the female, and then the male came afterwards. That is why, even today, many fish are only female. In order to breed— when the water temperature changes, part of the body changes, so that they can have sexual reproduction, and after that the body turns back to female.” In the end, gender is a social construct, and the idea that women are only born with XX chromosomes and men with XY is inaccurate. The twenty-three pairs of chromosomes that determine sex vary, and, contrary to popular belief, some men can be born with only XX, and some women born with XY pairings. A person’s perceived gender or sexual orientation is of no consequence to the quality of life and love they can give a child. Although these advancements still have a long way to go, they’re an extraordinary example of the ways in which, like artificial hearts and organ transplants, medical science can benefit humankind.
D O P E M AGA Z I N E .CO M
T EC H N O LO GY
JAKE UTTI BEAU GREENER
B
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eer is one of the oldest and most consumed beverages in the world. People have been brewing beer for 5,000 years, and many today argue it was the first fundamental ingredient to the creation of habitable society—even before bread. Millennia later, we’re still finding new ways to innovate civilization’s first beverage. The microbrewery boom, which began around 2008, is still very much in effect a decade later, with almost 5,000 breweries in the United States alone. In Seattle, for example, there’s a craft brewery on nearly every block, with a total of around 200 breweries within the city limits at any given time. In the rush to stand out from a growing field of competitors, craft brewers have put their pedals to the imaginative metal.
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NEW TECHNOLOGIES
Recently, microbreweries have pushed to be more environmentally friendly and reduce waste through technologies like carbon capturing. The idea is to reduce CO2 emissions, cut brewing costs and recycle the otherwise wasted carbon for other aspects of brewing. This, say some experts, could save brewers tens of thousands of dollars per year—a meaningful sum for a mom and pop shop.
NEW YEASTS
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IN THE RUSH TO STAND OUT FROM A GROWING FIELD OF COMPETITORS, CRAFT BREWERS HAVE PUT THEIR PEDALS TO THE IMAGINATIVE METAL.
For beer nerds, this may be the most exciting innovation yet. Yeast is a living organism that’s hard to tame, yet necessary for fermentation. But while yeast is an essential piece of the brewing process, craft beermakers have fixated on hops while in search of new flavors. Now, yeast is on their minds in a big way—both developing it in laboratories and finding new variations in the wild to test on new brews.
THE BIG COMPANIES ARE LEARNING
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After nearly two decades of watching new and innovative microbreweries pop up, companies like Heineken and Budweiser have not only begun copying their techniques, they ’ve swooped in and bought popular companies like Seattle’s Elysian Brewing to glean their secrets and find out new ways to get into your fridge with local flare and exotic IPA flavors.
CANNING
As microbreweries continue to establish themselves, more and more of your favorite local suds are winding up in cans for sale in stores. Want a cutting-edge Bodhizafa from Georgetown Brewing or a Lush IPA from Fremont Brewing? Now they’re at your local corner store next to the Miller Lite.
HOME BREWING APPLIANCES
Over the past five years, Seattle’s PicoBrew has created a modern, use-at-home beerbrewing appliance the size of a microwave. Using handmade Pico Pak ingredient kits, specified by breweries or by your own recipe, aspiring brewmasters can take the product home and brew any beer they want right at their kitchen table.
AND, OF COURSE, CANNABIS Brewery tour courtesy of Seapine Brewing Company in Seattle, WA AU G U ST 2 0 18
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Beer companies like Corona are investing in pot farms with the hope that cannabisinfused beer is the future of consumption. The idea, once the science is perfected and appropriate laws are passed, is to create a brew that’s beloved by beer drinkers and THC enthusiasts alike.
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n regard to cryptocurrencies, much of our attention is consumed by the fluctuating value of Bitcoin—perhaps this is because it seems people are getting rich fast or losing money like it’s blowing away on a gust of wind. Despite the fascination with Bitcoin, it’s the underlying technology that’s most exciting. If you haven’t heard of blockchain, here’s a primer.
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WHAT EXACTLY IS A BLOCKCHAIN? A blockchain is a public, decentralized register of anonymous payments and contracts. Here, decentralized means t h a t t h e s y s t e m i s s e r ve d b y m a ny computers spread around the world. It is hypothetically impossible to take down a decentralized register, or “chain,” as it is simultaneously added to ever y computer supporting the system. When a transaction is initiated, a “block” is added to the register and verified by the network; a public note is then created, which both parties cannot alter or remove.
Blockchain’s most notable use has been to underpin currencies used on black market websites such as Silk Road, but it’s beginning to go mainstream. Microsoft and Bank of America have started a blockchain project to make trade finance transactions faster, and J.P. Morgan is creating its own blockchain-powered Interbank Information Network to processes their daily transactions, which average a total of about five trillion dollars.
But what other uses are there for blockchain, and how will it affect our society? According to Philip Boucher, writing for the European Parliament Research Service, “The most profound impact of blockchain development could be changes in broad social values and structures . . . Each time we use blockchain technologies, we reaffirm the values and politics that they represent . . . a shift of power from central authorities to non-hierarchical and peer-to-peer structures.”
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VOTING Democracy underpins our society, and voting is the most consequential part of our democratic process. With so much at stake, the validity of the voting system is paramount; the 2016 U.S. elections were marred by accusations of vote rigging and foreign interference, and countries like Norway and The Netherlands have recently hand-counted ballots after similar security concerns. Blockchain, if proven secure, could provide the security needed to make E-voting a reality and improve our democratic processes. The technology nearly found its first proving ground in Sierra Leone, where ballots in a recent election were cast using blockchain technology—or so claimed technology company Agora. However, the country’s National Electoral Commission claims that blockchain was not used in any part of the electoral process. Despite this PR gaffe, blockchain’s potential as a voting tool remains promising.
SUPPLY CHAIN
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Blockchain also shows promise in improving supply chain tracking. As Kelly Cronin wrote for Chemonics, “Across the world there is virtually no last-mile visibility to help companies and consumers alike understand how their actions may inadvertently support human trafficking or poor labor conditions. Current technology solutions rely on the use of assumptions about the economic actors involved without tracking the actual identity and behavior of everyone in the supply chain.” Blockchain presents a solution to this issue by making every element of a supply chain transparent and trackable. Giving each element of a supply chain, like cocoa, coffee or even workers a “block” to add to the public register “chain” creates a transparent line that can be drawn from supplier to consumer. Conscientious buyers could conclusively answer questions such as: Is this garment really produced in sweatshop-free factories? Are these diamonds from conflict-free zones? Are these apples organic? Was my weed grown in the Emerald Triangle?
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IMAGINING A BLOCKCHAIN FUTURE What will a shift in these social structures mean? Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of blockchain platform and cryptocurrency operating system Ethereum, suggests blockchain will enable transactions without the need for a platform: “Whereas most technologies tend to automate workers on the periphery doing menial tasks, blockchains automate away the center. Instead of putting the taxi driver out of a job, blockchain puts Uber out of a job and lets the taxi drivers work with the customer directly.”
That said, our lives have b e e n revo l u t i o n i ze d b y t h e Internet; perhaps blockchain will similarly revolutionize our world. Blockchain has the potential to make national currencies redundant and deliver global transparency and accountability to an Internet flush with bad actors and unverified claims.
Blockchain disperses power by decentralizing a network and creating billions of new network owners, but Buterin’s claims may not come to fruition. After all, the Internet promised to democratize the world’s collective knowledge, but thus far the result has been a controlling cartel of corporations that effectively curate the Internet experience. By creating a platform for more open global transactions, it’s possible blockchain will only exacerbate income inequality by supercharging our current economic systems.
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PRODUCT
CANNABIS CONSUMPTION GETS A MAKEOVER NEW DELIVERY SYSTEMS WORTH TRYING IN 2018 ANDREA LARSON COURTESY OF FORIA WELLNESS, FORIA PLEASURE
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hile there’s nothing wrong with t h e “o l d f a s h i o n e d ” m e t h o d s of cannabis consumption, our Tech Issue provides the ideal platform for exploring inventive, fresh delivery systems for experiencing options that stray from the norm. We dug around, spoke with numerous research and development teams and have brought to the table a variety of unique ways that you can medicate, relax, unwind and find creative expression in 2018. We’re highlighting the Foria Wellness and Foria Pleasure Teams, who we recently spoke with, to showcase their all-natural cannabis suppositories and sprays. Visit dopemagazine. com/cannabis-consumption-future/ for more companies reinventing the consumption wheel.
Foria: When we launched Relief, it was the very first vaginal suppository for menstrual discomfort—really the first cannabis-infused vaginal suppository in recorded history. Rick Simpson Oil was still an underground recipe made at home by cancer patients and their caregivers, and some were getting good results with cannabis-oil rectal suppositories (though there’s still debate about how well the rectum actually absorbs THC). From our experience with Foria Pleasure, we knew cannabinoids were absorbed by the tissue of the vulva and vagina, and we figured a suppository would deliver the medicine closer to the source of menstrual discomfort: the uterus itself. What would you say to the consumer who is hesitant to try a new delivery method like yours? Foria Relief was designed for menstrual discomfort and cramping, but we’ve heard many beneficial reports from women with Endometriosis, PCOS and other pelvic conditions. I personally use Relief [rectally] for back pain, and we’ve heard from people who use it rectally for pain, relaxation, even sleep. There is some debate about whether Relief has a psychoactive effect. Many users report a feeling of deep relaxation that could be a bit stoney, so for first-time customers who have never used cannabis before, we suggest taking a lazy Sunday to experience the full effects of the product. Fortunately, we’re getting ready to launch a CBD-only suppository, which will have zero psychoactive effect. Early results from our testers suggest that it’s about as effective for menstrual discomfort as the THC variety, if not more so.
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F E AT U R E
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ith the warm summer days slowly waning, August in Seattle may seem a little quieter than usual. That’s because this year, Valve will be taking their crowd-drawing eSports tournament, The International (TI), north to Vancouver, B.C. For the last five years, thousands of eSports fans from all over the world have gathered at Seattle’s Key Arena to watch their favorite eSports athletes compete live. Teams travel to different countries to accumulate enough points to qualify for the high-paying invitationals. With the amount of travel required, there is some question as to whether these players should qualify as professional athletes and what rights they are entitled to. eSports is a broad term used for competitive gaming at a professional level. Yes, professional. You may think of football or basketball players hitting the pro-circuit in their mid to late-20s, but age ain’t nothin’ but a number in eSports! Most players range from their late teens to early twenties. While Super Bowl players can earn a $100,000 bonus, eSports professionals can rack up hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars in a single tournament … without subjecting their bodies to the usual contact-induced injuries. In 2015, Sumail Hassan Syed, “Suma1L,” earned $1 million after his team’s victory at TI, bringing his total professional earnings to $1,639,867 at the ripe old age of 16. TI has been a part of Seattle’s summer events since 2012. During the 2017 competition, 18 teams digitally vied for their take of an ever-growing, record-breaking prize pool. Increasing annually, TI’s prize pool has ballooned from $1.6 million in 2011 to $24,787,916 in 2017. With such high stakes, should we consider eSports a legitimate sport?
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THE RISE OF MODERN-DAY eSPORTS WAS CREATED IN A PERFECT STORM: THE SOUTH KOREAN FINANCIAL CRISIS OF 1997, CHEAP INTERNET, HYPER-CONNECTIVITY IN A RELIABLE INFRASTRUCTURE AND A NECESSITY FOR ESCAPISM.
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THE RISE OF A SPORT
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It’s easiest to compare eSports to American football, which has been played in some form since the late 1800s, but wasn’t established as a professional league until 1920. And so the American Professional Football Association (APFA) was born, the organization that would later become the National Football League (NFL) in 1922. Since the inception of video games, there has been some form of competition. In 1980, Walter Day founded the video game score-keeping organization Twin Galaxies, seen as the official confirmation source for The Guinness World Records. The battle for gaming superiority only escalated with increase of Internet connectivity. The rise of modern-day eSports was created in a perfect storm: the South Korean Financial Crisis of 1997, cheap Internet, hyper-connectivity in a reliable infrastructure and a necessity for escapism. This storm nurtured young Korean men’s game-playing abilities into what would become a marketable skill; a stark deviation from the traditional school-to-career path encouraged by mainstream Korean society. Suddenly, gaming became a spectator sport that only grew larger as time went on. There are now schools, like GameCoach Academy in South Korea, that offer training programs to students of all ages with a goal of becoming a pro-gamer. Just like any professional sport, most eSports athletes are lured in by the promise of fame and fortune. eSports athletes train vigorously year-round to maintain their physical and mental prowess. If that sentence made you chuckle because you don’t typically associate the classic “gamer” with “physical and mental prowess,” it might be time for you to reevaluate your idea of what an athlete is. Most pros find themselves separated from their family members and living in a team house, an area specifically built to train and harness teamwork and skillsets. Each individual competing on the professional circuit maintains an aggressive training schedule, including 12-14 hours of dedicated gaming each day and watching previous games to dissect plays. Players are coached in strategic thinking, focus and nutrition. This is their job. Pro-basketball player Jeremy Lin sees the similarity, saying, “I see it in a lot of ways similar to basketball. Just a 5-on-5 game where you have to work together, utilize each other strengths…the teamwork, the trust and the sacrifice—those are all true for every single team sport.” So when it comes to eSports athletes being treated as professionals, are they held to the same standards as other athletes? There is a growing consensus that they should be, in order to create and maintain eSports’ legitimacy. There are several leagues and tournaments, however, which makes this feat difficult, including Overwatch League, Electronic Sports League (ESL), and The International, that do not adhere to a universal set of rules. This is particularly evident when it comes to anti-doping rules. You knew where this was going, right?
DOPING IN eSPORTS In 2015, “Counter Strike: Global Offensive” (CS:GO) analyst and shoutcaster (someone who commentates and explains the game) Mohan “Launders” Govindasamy interviewed Kory “SEMPHIS” Friesen, who openly admitted that players on his then-team Cloud9 were using Adderall. A prescription drug commonly prescribed to treat narcolepsy and attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), Adderall is a stimulant, and its use has been an open secret in the eSports world since the beginning. While most folks commonly think of a performance-enhancing drug (PED) being an anabolic steroid, any substance that has the potential give an unfair advantage in competition can be thought of as a PED. Friesen’s admission placed a spotlight on eSport’s abuse of PEDs to increase concentration and reaction speed. As with any competition offering a fat-money prize, you can expect someone to try and cheat—just ask Lance Armstrong or Marion Jones. In response to the Friesen interview, the ESL promptly implemented an anti-doping policy, using the World Anti-Doping Agency ’s (WADA) list of prohibited substances and methods. WADA lists cannabinoids, both natural and synthetic, as prohibited substances. Does this mean that cannabis is a PED? For the purposes of eSports, it’s unlikely. There have been several studies conducted which show that cannabis may slow or have no effect on reaction time. In a 1998 study conducted by Duke University Medical Center, researchers took MRIs on 46 volunteers after consuming the cannabinoid THC. Scientists found that, after consumption, the altered blood flow to the brain caused a considerable distortion to participants’ sense of time. Additionally, there are many cannabinoids— with and without mind-altering properties—with different purposes, none of which have indicated they will make you a super-human eSports monster. More importantly, it’s difficult to give a straight answer as to how long cannabinoids stay in a person’s system. Each person’s body breaks down cannabinoids differently— some bodies process it faster, some slower. Note to my Devil’s-Lettuce-lovin’ folks: Take a seat for a moment while we explain how the breakdown and testing of THC works. Even after you’ve consumed, the metabolites, or byproduct of THC, stays inactive in the body’s fatty tissue for different periods of time—it is dependent on the potency of the product, how often a person partakes and the individual’s preferred method of consumption. The tests used to analyze cannabis usage can even vary results! A blood test can come up clean two to four days after consumption, a saliva test can be clean after one to three days, but a urinalysis can show a positive result between eight and 30 days. Some folks have reported testing positive 77 days after their last consumption.
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THE TOP 5 eSPORTS EARNERS Although some view video games as a waste of time, for these top eSports athletes it’s a source of major income. Here are the top contenders in eSports, as reported by esportsearnings.com.
“KUROKY” Name: Kuro Takhasomi Age: 25 Country: Germany Total Earnings: $3,629,477.75
“MIRACLE-“ Name: Amer Al-Barkawi Age: 20 Country: Jordan Total Earnings: $3,202,886.88
“UNIVERSE” Name: Saahil Arora Age: 28 Country: United States Total Earnings: $2,996,603.47
“MATUMBAMAN” Name: Lasse Urpalainen Age: 23 Country: Finland Total Earnings: $2,969,665.64
“MIND_CONTROL”
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Name: Ivan Ivanov Age: 23 Country: Bulgaria Total Earnings: $2,969,961.36
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LACK OF CONSISTENCY IS DANGEROUS This confusing lack of consistency is potentially dangerous for eSports tournament contestants traveling to countries where cannabis use is strictly prohibited. In the Philippines, as per 1976 Presidential Decree, a professional athlete entering the country to participate in a game or tournament is required to obtain a license from the Games and Amusement Board (GAB). The Filipino government screens for marijuana and methamphetamine hydrochloride through a urine test once a player has already entered the country. This is particularly troubling since the Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is in the middle of a “war on drugs” that has killed more than 12,000 people in 14 months. Duterte has encouraged vigilante violence and extrajudicial killings of anyone suspected of using or selling drugs, stating, “If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful.” Whether there’s proof of criminal activity or not, the body count has continued to rise, with the innocent, including children, being called “collateral damage.” This raised concern for The International’s parent company, Valve, which was set to sponsor the Philippines’ pro circuit qualifying major, the Galaxy Battles 2018 tournament. Though the GAB explained they would “slightly loosen” the rules by letting players submit drug testing results taken from their home country, Valve pulled their investment and “major” status from the tournament—meaning participants in the tournament would not earn qualifying points towards The International 2018 or the $500,000 prize. In an official statement, Valve explained, “This is based on what we feel are unreasonable infringements on the privacy of the players, as a condition to enter the country.” After Valve’s withdrawal, eight of the 16 teams followed suit and pulled out of the competition.
THE FUTURE There is no doubt eSports should be considered a sport, and its players professional athletes. However, with the growth of the estimated $906 million eSports industry, along with consistently sold-out events, worldwide media coverage, and talks of becoming a 2024 Olympic sport comes the responsibility of creating a cohesive, universal anti-doping policy which targets players that use PEDs. Should cannabis be on that list? For now, Seattle will be a little quieter and vendors’ pockets a little lighter this August. If TI returns to Seattle, you can bet that it’ll be bigger and better than ever.
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“ 2018 has brought its share of dim moments and new challenges, but the future of the cannabis industry is bright. We look forward to coming together at New West Summit to lay the foundation for positive change. I hope to see you in Oakland this Fall to join the conversation. “ - Jim McAlpine, Executive Director of NWS
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The first conference to focus on the changing developments in technology , science, media, and investment within the cannabis industry.
OAKLAND OCT 11-12, 2018 CONSUMER DAY OCT 13, 2018 VENUE: MARRIOTT CITY CENTER 1001 Broadway, OAKLAND, CA New West Summit will have a discounted group block at the venue hotel that will be provided upon purchase of a ticket or booking of a booth.
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T EC H N O LO GY
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THE FUTURE OF TECH AND TRANSPORTATION
magine two photos, one before and one after. The before image shows New York City ’s Times Square in 1900, its sidewalks bustling with pedestrians and roads congested with horse-drawn carriages, plus one early model of an internal combustion vehicle. The after shows the same block from the same angle 13 years later, with automobiles dominating the landscape and not a horse in sight. “There are these tipping points where the things we accept as standard get flipped on their heads, because technology drives us to that critical mass,” explains Keoki Sears, global program director for the engineering firm Jacobs and one of four speakers at a Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce talk on the future of transportation. “I think we’re at that point today.” That tipping point is an intersection between the digital technology that’s come to dominate our media landscape in the past several years and the urban infrastructure that’s defined our physical landscape for decades. Plans to apply smart phone-style connectivity to improve functionality and communications between public and private institutions are already well under way, thanks in part to an Obama-era “Smart Cities” initiative that invested $160 million in research on tech collaborations to tackle pressing issues.
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A MORE PERFECT UNION A Smar t City is one that leverages new advances in data sharing and machine learning to efficiently manage resources and otherwise solve pressing multidisciplinary problems. For most cities, these include traffic congestion, climate change, crime and the distribution of economic resources. To achieve such ambitious ends, Smart Cities operate on an “Internet of Things” to which everything is connected. In these cities, autonomous vehicles, waste receptacles, power plants, freight trains, water supply reservoirs, public transit systems and other urban variables can all upload and share relevant information with each other in real-
time to keep things running smoothly. You won’t need to check your phone for accidents on the freeway—your car will take that into account while planning your route. Public employees won’t be needed to monitor waste levels in dumpsters—the dumpsters will upload that data on the Internet of Things themselves. Modern cities are complex systems, so processing and drawing conclusions from such massive stores of data will depend on artificial rather than human intelligence. The most integral component of the Smart City ecosystem—and the one we have yet to crack—will be its means of communication. A Smart City’s communications system must
be made to analyze streams of data from a city’s many heterogeneous communications networks and protocols already in place—a new system that can be superimposed over the old. The Smart City must be engineered to serve its institutions, just as the institutions will have to be reshaped to serve the Smart City. “Technology is not the biggest challenge with this,” argues Dan Lukasik, Vice President of the digital solutions firm Parsons Corporation and another speaker at the event. “Institutional issues are ten times more difficult to resolve than tech ones.” Establishing greater connectivity and communication between services that have
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traditionally operated independently will lead to myriad priority clashes and conflicts of interest, but also to more integrated solutions, as we can better grasp how seemingly disparate problems feed into one another. “It is really the partnerships that make this work,” notes Loreana Marciante, Vulcan, Inc.’s climate strategy manager, another speaker at the Chamber of Commerce event. “There’s not one institution that can solve all the problems anymore. You have to have different disciplines and perspectives to bring about the best and most robust solutions.” To date, the most publicized aspect of all
this has been the advent of self-driving cars, electric-powered prototypes of which are already being street-tested. Theoretically, not only will autonomous vehicles reduce traffic fatalities, greenhouse gas emissions and gridlock—they may eliminate the need for private car ownership altogether. Rideshare companies like Lyft are already partnering with event companies and public transit authorities to reduce fares, integrate payment systems, incentivize carpooling and let users plan complete trips across different platforms. These partnerships are transforming the previously clear-cut divide
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between private and public transportation into more of a spectrum. An admittedly optimistic report from the independent think tank RethinkX forecasts that by 2030, 95 percent of U.S. passenger miles will be served by on-demand autonomous vehicles in a new business model called “transport-asa-service” (TaaS). Car ownership is already in decline and interest in driving waning among younger generations. Economic factors, they predict, will drive consumers to go with the option that’s fast becoming more efficient and affordable, costing 15 cents a mile versus 38 for a private vehicle.
THE SMART CITY MUST BE ENGINEERED TO SERVE ITS INSTITUTIONS, JUST AS THE INSTITUTIONS WILL HAVE TO BE RESHAPED TO SERVE THE SMART CITY.
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UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES C o n v e r s e l y, t h e r e a r e a l s o f e a r s t h a t autonomous cars may actually end up c o n t r i b u t i n g t o t h e i n e q u a l i t y, t r a f f i c c o n g e s t i o n a n d u r b a n s p r a w l t h e y ’r e supposed to alleviate by becoming a luxury for the rich alone, allowing them to live farther from work and flooding streets with zerooccupancy vehicles. This could be prevented with Smart City protocols on ridesharing to improve efficiency, as well as new measures to regulate the equitable use and deployment of self-driving vehicles and other technological advances, which the U.S. government has so far shied away from. “We have a significant amount of regulatory structures in place to protect us in the built environment, where we actually reside,”
explains Marciante. “That’s not something the tech industry has really yet had to grapple with.” The shift to TaaS will also cause enormous job loss in the transportation and oil industries, which RethinkX believes will be mitigated by these new business opportunities and surpluses. By spending less on maintenance for a private vehicle, consumers can spend more on other services, while the reduced number of vehicles on the road will enable greater accessibility to businesses and open vast tracts of land to new uses. Marciante warns that we can’t wait on autonomous vehicles to solve the issue of climate change. Cities can take more immediate actions to curb emissions, like
transitioning to electric power without selfdriving cars or incentivizing ridesharing and transit use through congestion pricing— meaning charging cars an extra toll to drive at certain times or within certain heavilytrafficked areas. Such measures—already in effect in London, Singapore and elsewhere—illustrate how Smart Cities are designed to manage the flow of people as well as resources, matching the incentives in our urban environment to achieve desired outcomes. Every speaker at the talk agreed that technology mustn’t be deployed just for the sake of deploying it, but used intentionally to address specific public needs, which will be easier to identify as our data collection methods continue to improve.
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But isn’t there something vaguely dystopian to all this? If everything’s connected, won’t we be even more vulnerable than we already are to data abuses by vast tech corporations or independent hackers? Won’t the city’s entire infrastructure grind to a halt when one part fails? When privately-owned internal combustion vehicles first took over America’s streets, they led to supercharged sprawl, more isolated low-income communities, a proliferation of smog and other negative impacts we’re still coping with today. What will be the unintended consequences that reverberate through the decades this time? Planning for such consequences before we reach that tipping point may be the best way to prevent them in the first place—to make sure we’re making our way towards utopia, rather than dystopia. The critical moment may seem a long way off with the “Internet of Things,” and with autonomous vehicles still relegated mostly to news headlines rather than real life, but it probably seemed just the same to the horsedrawn carriage operators of Times Square circa 1900.
WON’T YOU BE M Y NEI GHB OR? City populations are exploding, and Smart Cities may be the only infrastructure solution. Data culled from Smart City Hub, a September 14, 2015, White House press release on Smart City initiatives and Statista points to the growing need for rapid technological advances in the Smart City arena.
2040 The year it’s projected that 65% of the global population will live in urban areas.
2.5 BILLION Number of additional people estimated to live in cities by 2050; nearly 90% of those people will reside in Asia and Africa.
$34.35 BILLION Projected dollar amount to be spent on Smart Cities globally by 2020.
34 BILLION Expected dollar amount the Smart City market will bring in globally each year.
1.18 BILLION
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Number of connected devices in Smart Cities in 2015; this number is expected to reach 3.3 billion devices by the end of this year.
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usic has a way of making everything else disappear. In those moments, nothing else matters— not the job you wish you didn’t have to go back to, not the relationship that only brings you heartache, not the bills piling up at home. Music, especially live music—is a freeing experience. Now imagine if you could amplify that experience—wouldn’t you? That’s exactly what the founders at San Francisco’s Envelop set out to do. “It’s a dream that I’ve had for a long time,” Christopher Willits, one of the nonprofit’s four founders and current director explains. “To make the best listening space in the world that [will] become a microscope for people’s focus and attention, which allows the power of music to be amplified.” Willits and his partners have successfully executed this dream by taking what is commonly perceived as highquality listening experiences and enhancing them with spatial audio. Spatial audio is, in essence, three-dimensional sound. “When we reproduce music, that music is reproduced on a flat plane—from a left and right stereo field,” Willits illustrates. “However, it’s an abstraction of how we actually hear. It’s like taking a three-dimensional architectural space and then flattening it. That’s what we’re essentially doing with music … when we’re putting it into a two-dimensional stereo field.” To un-flatten the listening experience, Willits and his partners built eight massive columns that hold three speakers each, added four more speakers on the ceiling and four subwoofers on the corners of the octagon—surrounding the listener from every angle, and allowing the sound to fill the space. The eight columns are also embedded with LED lights, which create an atmospheric presence all its own when they synchronize with the auditory experience. These systems all live in their location at The Midway in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood. Ambisonic technology elevates the Envelop experience above surround sound and other commercially available multidirectional audio arrays. Commercial surround sound is organized with primary sound sources in front of the listener, as well as layered rear channels. With ambisonic technology, on the other hand, every direction is treated equally. Willits and his cohort digitally map the sound pumping through their system and position it around the listener from numerous points of direction.
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COMMERCIAL SURROUND SOUND IS ORGANIZED WITH PRIMARY SOUND SOURCES IN FRONT OF THE LISTENER, AS WELL AS LAYERED REAR CHANNELS. WITH AMBISONICS, ON THE OTHER HAND, EVERY DIRECTION IS TREATED EQUALLY.
Envelop’s ambitions extend beyond the live arena as well. The nonprofit distributes the audio production tools that power their experience through the Ableton Live 10 Suite. Called Envelop for Live, the software allows producers to create spatial audio that’s scalable to different listening experiences, from a custom speaker setup to headphones. That Envelop for Live is currently free online means musicians have easy access to tools beyond multi-channel audio, whereas previously, this technology was expensive and hard to come by. Now anyone can explore the world of spatial sound. These tools don’t just apply to music production—ambisonic spatial audio is already being used in vir tual reality platforms. Envelop has put their own spin on the immersive experience, however, with spatial sound meditation and restorative yoga classes, ambient music performances, listening parties and Envelop Satellite—the complete eight tower system utilized at events and festivals. “As far as I know, we are the first company—the first organization, definitely the first nonprofit—that has taken this stuff out of academia and made public listening spaces,” Willits asserts. “Music is so power ful. Our mission is to amplify that connective power of music in the three-dimensional experience.”
DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR? Our ability to perceive sound is extremely complex, but how does human hearing stand up to other creatures’ sonic abilities?
HUMAN We can hear a pretty modest ten meters away for whispers and up to one hundred meters distance if someone’s yelling. The peak range of a human’s sound frequency capacity is twenty hertz to twenty kilohertz.
DOG Even though your dog might act like they don’t hear you sometimes, they can hear up to four times better than the average human after they’re about 21 days old. Dogs are born deaf but surpass human sonic ability quickly.
CAT For all you dog people out there, this is one rivalry you can’t win. Cats have thirty different rotational muscles in their ears, so they hear every last word you say—and still choose to ignore you.
ELEPHANT Our perceptions of hearing are often based on what we hear with our ears, but elephants can hear with their feet, too. They can also utilize seismic waves to sense danger or send warnings to others.
GREATER WAX MOTH
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Our abilities are based on evolutionary need. For this little critter, predation is a problem, but with the capacity to sense frequencies of around three hundred kilohertz, this insect’s chances of survival increase.
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GROW
A CINDERELLA 99 STORY HOW THE PROCESS OF CUBING PRESERVED A HERITAGE STRAIN SCOTT PEARSE
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COURTESY OF MR SOUL operation down.’ We said, ‘Let’s drop all communication so no one can tie one to the other.’ That was the last time I spoke with him. That was in 2001.” Often we take the fraternity of our now open industry for granted, but at a recent event, Mr Soul met somebody who personally knew his former business partner and informed him of Sly’s recent death. “This was someone that I knew,” he says sadly, “really trusted, worked with for a long time.” Mr Soul is a masters graduate in nuclear engineering and started growing cannabis during college. With information scarce in a pre-Internet age, “it was basically reading High Times magazine, the classified ads in the back of the magazine. At the time it seemed outrageous—‘Oh, look, you can write away for psilocybin mushroom spores and cannabis seeds.’”
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r Soul is the creator of the strain Cinderella 99. He started Brothers Grimm in 1996 in Boston, and the business supplied high-quality genetics at a time when seeds where more likely to have hitched a ride with your bud than come in a packet. With the advent of the Internet came an opportunity to share information—and product. “You can imagine the online world at that time, it was very clunky,” Mr Soul recalls. “But there were message boards. We [cultivators] used chat rooms. We all talked on a daily basis and would share stories of what we were doing.” Mr Soul met his business partner online: “His name was Sly. He operated from Las Vegas—and me, from Boston—never met, never shook hands. There came a day where he said, ‘I think my cover is blown, and the prudent thing to do would be to shut your
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Cinderella 99 made the Brothers Grimm name recognizable at a time when having a name meant being respected and sought after in a small corner of the Internet. But with the open market as it is now, he decided to bring Cinderella 99 back stateside, and Mr Soul isn’t shy about announcing that we’re seeing the return of a great strain. “It’s like Jimi Hendrix has just turned up again and said ‘Hey, I can still play guitar!’” But how to resurrect a great hit from a long lost album? “I had individual seeds,” recounts Mr Soul. “I had trusted friends holding clones of my two most important females. When I wanted to start up again, I contacted them and got them to send [the clones to me]. Then it was simply a question of what male to use as a donor. I had seeds of the male I originally used stored at my grandmother’s house since 2002.”
CUBING CINDERELLA 99 In 1996, Mr Soul cultivated the few seeds in a bud of Jack Herer bought at Sensi Smile coffee shop in Amsterdam. One of the seeds produced a very special female Mr Soul named “Princess.” According to Mr Soul, Princess had a devastatingly psychoactive resin and stayed short, compact and had a heavenly aroma of tropical fruit and rotten meat. It was from Princess that Cinderella 99 was bred. To create a stable seed line from Princess, Mr Soul decided to use a technique called “cubing.” Cubing a plant is a method to genetically replicate, as close as is possible, a seed line from a single female plant. In this instance, Mr Soul was hoping to share Princess with the world. However, in this breeding case, a male needed to be involved somewhere—Cinderella 99 seeds are created from a male P94 crossed to Princess. The ideal male to donate his pollen is preferably the female’s father or a brother, to preserve any female traits linked to the male side of
“
the family. The seeds that result from this union contain one half of the original female’s genes and half those of the male. It is then a matter of growing the seeds to flower. The process is as follows: Pollinate a flowering clone of the chosen female with pollen from a male selected from the above group; these seeds contain three-fourths of the chosen female’s genes with the remaining quarter being that of the male. Mr Soul calls this the “first back-cross generation P75.” Repeat this process three more times, and the resulting seeds (in theory) contain fifteen-sixteenths of the original female’s genetics. Or, as Mr Soul would say, “The third backcross generation, P94. It is this plant that becomes the donor male.” Theoretically, this will be a stable, true-breeding seed line from which all females are near-replicas of the original.
ONE OF THE SEEDS PRODUCED A VERY SPECIAL FEMALE MR SOUL NAMED ‘PRINCESS.’ ACCORDING TO MR SOUL, PRINCESS HAD A DEVASTATINGLY PSYCHOACTIVE RESIN AND STAYED SHORT, COMPACT AND HAD A HEAVENLY AROMA OF TROPICAL FRUIT AND ROTTEN MEAT. IT WAS FROM PRINCESS THAT CINDERELLA 99 WAS BRED.
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A MYSTICAL RETURN
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Good seeds are the beginning point of any great garden. And for many heritage growers, Cinderella 99 is fondly recalled. Mr Soul has a theory: “When I dropped off the radar in 2001 to hide out in Europe, I think that got the rumor mill going. [My disappearance] sort of made Cinderella 99 more mystical.� Maybe more mystical, but maybe just as good as it ever was.
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A LESSON IN MAKING FEMALE PLANTS If you’ve been in the market for seeds recently, you’ll likely have encountered “feminized seeds.” And though regular six-bowl Joe doesn’t need all the information that went into creating his consistent, well-thought-out high, having knowledge creates something Mr Soul calls The Connoisseur Effect. “As we become better informed, we are greater appreciators of subtleties.” Mr Soul explains some of his research into feminizing seeds, sharing, “A group of plant scientists led by Dr. H.Y. Mohan Ram from India performed numerous documented studies which revealed several methods of inducing sex reversal in female dioecious plants to produce fertile male flowers.” To break that down, we’re talking about turning our ladies into men, purely for reasons of reproduction. Where ladies have two X chromosomes, fellas have one Y and one X chromosome. “Pollen from male flowers generated through sex reversal,” the female to male treatment, “will always contain only X chromosomes and thus are feminized so growers don’t have to worry about inviting male plants into the growing room.” The female to male treatment’s name is “silver thiosulfate anionic complex, or STS. STS solution consists of two ingredients which combine to form biologically active silver thiosulfate complex. Those two ingredients [compounds] are silver nitrate and
sodium thiosulphate.” “Dr. Ram found that silver ions block female plants’ production of ethylene, which is a compound involved in normal ripening and flower development,” Mr soul continues. “When ethylene is blocked, female plants are essentially ‘tricked’ into forming male flowers— male flowers which contain only female genetics and thus produce only female seeds.” “Gardeners will be happy to know that STS only has a direct physical effect on the treated plants and is not absorbed or passed on to the female seeds produced . . . absolutely no STS residue is present in the female plants grown from female seeds produced through use of STS solution.” In relation to concerns about handling these chemicals, Mr Soul explains, “Silver nitrate is commonly used in photography and has several medical uses due to its antiseptic properties. While it is true that silver nitrate is corrosive and will stain skin black if handled directly, it is very safe in the extremely dilute concentration used in STS solution.” What about sodium thiosulfate? “Among its various uses, sodium thiosulfate is used directly on skin as a topical antifungal agent and is used as an ingredient in table salt — every time you add a salt packet to your French fries, you are eating sodium thiosulfate.”
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Jonah Tacoma Jess Larue
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I
woke with a start as the plane touched down in London’s Heathrow Airpor t. We had popped half a Xanax in Seattle and slept through the entire 12-hour flight. Jessica rubbed her eyes in surprise as I gathered our gear from the overhead. We would have a few hours drinking pints of San Miguel in England before catching our final connection to the Netherlands. This was our second trip to Amsterdam, and I was anxious to be back. We had stayed on our own time zone the previous trip and left feeling like a vampires, rising each night and returning after the last bars closed late into the following morning. I was determined to see more of the city this time around. The flight from England to Holland was a short one — two hours in the air and we were touching down in The Dam. Few cities are as well-known as this one. Famous for its liberal drug culture and open acceptance of the sex trade, Amsterdam has long been the cannabis capital of the
world. Home to the original High Times Cannabis Cup, the city has been a mecca for cannabis enthusiasts since the ‘60s, many traveling thousands of miles to openly partake in cannabis at the hundred or so coffee shops that dot the Red Light District. Longtime industry friend and Holland native Jair Velleman picked us up from the airport. He started a small lighting company with a few friends in the Netherlands and was one of the first European players to see the value in the American cannabis market, bringing Gavita Holland light fixtures to hundreds of U.S. growers. He’d made a few million bucks off the sale of Gavita and became an unlikely investor in Dabstars, picking up a few percent of the company’s stock after my exgirlfriend posted her shares on Facebook. He watched us grow the company from the start, and was one of the few people who truly had a vision for what we were trying to do. Jair dodged the assault of bikes and pedestrians in the way only a true local can, navigating us deeper into the center of town towards our flat on the
canal. This was a work trip for us, but we made sure there was plenty of time for play. We had a full schedule of coffee shop appearances, including one with Devin the Dude I was looking forward to. I buzzed the door of the flat — the loud click of a heavy electric lock was the only reply. The shuffle of footsteps could be heard from above, and I swung the heavy door open wide to find a smiling Chris Jacobson. “You made it!” he exclaimed. Chris was the man in Amsterdam, or Spain, or anywhere else in Europe that had a cannabis trade. Weed man to Action Bronson, Chris would be our host for the next nine days. He was well connected in the coffee shop scene and had been helping us launch Dabstars in Barcelona, where the dab scene was much friendlier. In spite of all of the freedom, in Holland dabs are scheduled like heroin. RSO and even tinctures are strictly prohibited across the board. I was in the country in 2014, and even back then you could still find some decent dabs if you knew where to look. Walk into the right coffee shop and ask for some dabable “isolator” with a wink, and you were likely to see a small selection of budders and waxes being sold by the gram for €100. From mushrooms to molly, anything could be found in the twisting, turning alleys of the Red Light District. As
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each coffee shop held its own treasures, and we were there to try them all. In spite of their famous disdain for tourists, the hospitality we received as members of the cannabis community was unparalleled. I rolled a chunk of Lebanese cream between my fingers that the staff at Green House assured us was their very best. Joa, famous strain hunter and co-owner of one of the largest seed banks in the world, had dropped it off himself, along with some Super Lemon Haze that was now stinking up our table. I chuckled as Ed Rosenthal, famous cannabis grower and author, walked in, pausing to take his bearings in the door frame. “Ed!” I shouted, motioning him over. “We saved you a seat,” I said, grinning. We spent a week together along with his wife, Jane, in a bungalow on the north shore of Oahu, lodged together by an event promoter. In spite of our age difference, we hit it off immediately, becoming great friends in the time since. We were still chatting idly about the Lemon Haze a few hours later when two members of the Taylor Gang company walked into Green House. Wiz Khalifa was staying at The Grand next door, and this was his usual coffee shop. Saying our goodbyes to Ed, we headed back into the streets to hit a few
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long as you stayed in line and didn’t affect anyone else’s good time, it’s pretty much anything goes. The idea is simple enough. The Dutch acknowledged that certain vices are always going to exist, and agreed that an ever shrinking part of town, affectionately named after the red lights glowing in the call girls’ windows, would house them all. Stag parties from Britain, couples on a romantic getaway — Amsterdam is Europe’s playground, and it showed here in the city center. Trash littered the streets and spilled over into the canals which — though flushed regularly—held a green, dingy hue. On a warm, windless day you might catch a whiff of the methane coming off the water from your table at one of the many outdoor eateries. The cleanup effort was immense. Each morning an army of workers hit the streets with hoses, washing the previous night’s filth into the canal and picking up after the more than five million tourists that visit the city each year. It was not hard to understand the disdain many of the locals expressed towards visitors. The capital city of the Netherlands, Amsterdam itself is a miracle of Old World engineering. Built five feet below sea level, the city grew from a small group of houses built up along the mouth of the river Amstel. The Amstel Dam was eventually created to manage the water, and Amsterdam as we know it was born. Our first three days went by in a blur. Het Ballonnetje, De Kroon, Prix d’Ami, Green House—
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more of the shops on our list before checking out the nightlife. I woke the next morning to a shout from Chris. “Wiz Khalifa needs carts!” I sat up in the oversized bed, rubbing my head from a rough night spent at The Players Club. An hour later, we were back at Green House with a handful of Dabstar Carts that had found their way into my luggage. Joa introduced us to John, Wiz’s road manager, who thanked us for the pens. “For some reason, when Wiz thinks of Amsterdam, he thinks of mushrooms,” John exclaimed in amused frustration. My ears perked up at the change in topic. While mushrooms were not strictly illegal in Holland, the magic mushroom shops that once dotted the Red Light District had been replaced with space cakes and magic truffles. Real mushrooms were hard to find. Joa shrugged. “That is the only thing we can’t help you with,” he said apologetically. I looked over to Chris to see if he was thinking what I was. His grin was all the answer I needed. “We can help with that,” I offered. To be continued…
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itual CBD is a pleasant smoke from beginning to end. It activated my brain and gave me a solid focus with no trace of intoxication; in other words, my experience smoking this strain was lovely. The half-gram pre-roll is a good size and rolled properly. I enjoyed the nutty, fresh, clean taste and the slightly lime aftertaste. The smoke is smooth, has a light aroma, and burns a perfect ash; my head felt clear and stimulated afterwards, and left only a slight residual flavor in my mouth. For anyone trying to quit smoking cigarettes, this strain could be the best alternative to smoking tobacco.
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THE HISTORY “I believe this location is the second or third cannabis dispensary ever opened,” says Misha Breyburg, co-founder of Medithrive, which originally opened as Patients and Caregivers Cooperative in 1996. “Due to the AIDS epidemic in the ‘90s, people needed cannabis medicine,” Breyburg explains. In 2009, the original owner of PCC surrendered control to Breyburg and childhood friend Sasha Plotitsa, who together designed a business plan for a welcoming dispensary. “What would it be like if you walked into a dispensary that was more like a spa?” they asked. The world got its answer when Medithrive opened in 2009. Statewide government raids compelled the dispensary to close its storefront and focus on delivery in 2012, and Medithrive finally opened their updated, visually striking storefront two years ago.
THE PEOPLE Medithrive’s staff carries over 200 collective years of practice working in Bay Area cannabis. These local, kind, qualified professionals set examples for excellence through their belief that every cannabis club should make compassionate care top priority. “It’s a family business with ambience a step above,” asserts Breyburg. Consultants ask tourist visitors about their journey and what brought them to Medithrive, as well as their experience with cannabis. Many patrons have never used cannabis before. Consultants recommended “slow and low” microdosing and CBD for newbies as an extension of the club’s motto: “Do good. Be safe. Live life.”
THE PRODUCT Future-forward clean design and display cases illuminate the product; buds are showcased in glass domes holding four strain samples. Flower brands include Gas House, Synergy and Northern Emeralds. Russian Cream by Synergy is especially eye-catching. Hash selection sits in a gorgeous glowing display available in various prices, including Oakland Extracts and Terp Preservation. Quality cartridges are also available. Medithrive offers digital screens for easy browsing, menu scrolling and discount specials listed online.
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PISTIL POINT ONE OF OREGON’S BIGGEST GROWS EYES OAKLAND CHRISTINA CASSEN KANDID KUSH
THE PLACE Headquartered in Oregon, Pistil Point boasts one of the biggest grows in the Pacific Northwest and a strong foothold in the region. The garden is looking to expand its reach south, however, to the Bay Area. “Circling back to California has always been the plan,” according to the California team, led by Scott Grech, head of operations. “We’re focusing on what’s really important—quality cannabis,” remarks Grech about entering the Bay’s already crowded market. “There’s a lot of cannabis in California, but there is not much consistency.” Pistil Point is self-funded and has never taken investments, proving the garden has an established brand, which allows Grech and his team to focus on production at a facility located in Oakland’s “green zone.” New to the business side of cannabis, Grech shares that “it’s a bit scary; it’s all new, and there is the financial risk, but coming out of the underground feels good . . . We feel safer without the drug dealer stigma.”
“
WE’RE FOCUSING ON WHAT’S REALLY IMPORTANT, QUALITY CANNABIS. THERE’S A LOT OF CANNABIS IN CALIFORNIA, BUT THERE IS NOT MUCH CONSISTENCY. – SCOTT GRECH, PISTIL POINT HEAD OF OPERATIONS
THE PRODUCT
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Pistil Point is best known for their King Louis OG, but Grech’s favorite new strain is called Lemonz, a Zkittlez and DNA Lemon OG Kush cross from an accidental breeding project. Such unexpected surprises, however, are not the norm at the garden. “We don’t experiment to save money,” imparts Grech. “We have it down to a system that we don’t question, but we’re constantly learning.” Regarding their grow process, Travis Sandoval, head of cultivation, shares that their aversion to risk is offset by their commitment to quality: “It’s a lot of work to ‘weed out’ compatibility between strains in our system and style of growing with soil, which can be more demanding, labor-wise . . . It’s not necessarily about the harvest. Some growers shy away from the boutique strains because they produce less [cannabis].” PISTILPOINT.COM @PISTILPOINT
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@PISTILPOINT
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CHRISTINA CASSEN KANDID KUSH
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est Oakland’s Chemistry offers full-spectrum cannabis extracts in various forms, including the Forbidden Fruit vape cartridge and MediHaze tincture we sampled. As a brand, Chemistry exudes its human side; the products and aesthetic are clean and simple, while the website and messaging are playful and heartfelt. Nothing but good vibes, even before breaking open the products.
MEDIHAZE TINCTURE The Chemistry MediHaze tincture is one of the best I’ve tried. The easyto-measure dropper makes dosing a breeze, and the light taste is easy to stomach. The tincture provides clarity and the slightly energizing effect for which MediHaze is known. Furthermore, I was excited by the tincture FAQs, which led me to believe that it may turn pink or purple when exposed to sunlight (and remains safe to consume). Advocating for “Life in Color,” Chemistry’s extracts are rich in hue, and the company educates consumers on cannaflavins— flavonoids unique to cannabis that contribute to its smell, taste and especially color. Chemistr y is running a “don’t fear the flavonoids” campaign to promote these therapeutic compounds—early research shows that cannaflavin-A may be more powerful than aspirin!
THC
93 MG C BD
168 MG 480 MG CANNABINOIDS TOTAL
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TESTED AT: PURE ANALYTICS PureAnalytics.net
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AVAILABLE AT CALIFORNIA WELLNESS SF AND MARIN DELIVERY CALIFORNIA-WELLNESS.ORG SOLFUL 785 GRAVENSTEIN HWY S SEBASTOPOL, CA 95472 MAGNOLIA WELLNESS 161 ADELINE ST OAKLAND, CA 94607
FORBIDDEN FRUIT CARTRIDGE The device itself is a quality CCELL vape battery, nicely weighted and well-heated to provide beautiful plumes of vapor. As expected, I enjoyed a smooth, creamy inhale, tasting nonoverpowering herbal, fruity notes. With a lower THC potency than most, Forbidden Fruit delivers a mellow high that’s a bit sleepy; enlightenment followed by couch lock. I appreciated the in-depth label with information on the measured milligram dosing, along with percentages of the major cannabinoids and terpenes. After enjoying a few hits, I was amused by the online FAQs on how to open its “adult-resistant container”: “TLDR: Pinch and slide.” Duh.
PRODUCED & PROVIDED BY CHEMISTRY TRYCHEMISTRY.COM @TRYCHEMISTRY @TRYCHEMISTRY
T HC
67.67% CB D
TRACE TESTED AT: PURE ANALYTICS PureAnalytics.net
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FITNESS
KELLY VO
PROVIDED BY KUAIFIT, GARMIN, EQUA & THE BUFF FIT
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hether you’re an avid gymgoer or a weekend workout enthusiast, getting off the couch is always a struggle. That’s why we love anything that makes fitness a little easier and better—aka technology! I’m all about gadgets that transform my workouts into a high-tech experience, where I can track data, enhance my exercise and make reaching my goals possible. With the barrage of devices on the market, I thought I’d cover the top five pieces of technology ideal for any type and level of exercise.
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GARMIN FENIX® 5 One of the most technologically advanced watches on the market, the Garmin fenix® 5 is a multisport GPS watch for athletes of all types. With a wrist-based heart rate monitor and the ability to track a huge range of activities from running to biking, swimming, skiing, golfing and rowing, its uses are almost limitless. I’ve used mine to track everything from my 13-hour Ironman triathlon to days spent skiing, hiking and golfing. You can purchase one of 14 different fenix 5® varieties, including Wi-Fi-enabled devices, as well as 5s options specifically designed for smaller wrists. There’s a style and feature for everyone, even if you’re only looking for an upgraded Fitbit that tracks your daily steps, sleep patterns and heart rate. $549.99 - $799.99 BUY.GARMIN.COM
KUAIFIT HEADPHONES No workout is complete without a way to listen to music, and the days of wires getting in the way are long gone. Now it’s all about highly portable music, with earbuds that stay where they’re meant to be and offer high-quality performance. KuaiFit takes it one step further by including features that not only track your training data, but link with an iPhone or Android to offer personalized fitness plans. KuaiFit is a music player, coach and activity tracker all in one. Whether you’re running, cycling or hitting the gym, KuaiFit helps you monitor your fitness while offering adaptive, real-time advice for reaching your goals. And with seven hours of battery life on a single charge, these sweat-proof headphones can last as long as you can. $159.99 KUAI.FIT
EQUA SMART WATER BOTTLE The EQUA Smart Water Bottle is the future of hydration. Not only does the bottle glow to remind when you should take a sip, but it also helps you keep track of your hydration, which is key for getting fit. It’s no wonder that over 2,000 people have backed it on Kickstarter, pledging far more than the original goal. EQUA is a high-quality product with a leak-proof cap, double wall insulation to keep beverages cold for 24 hours and hot for 12, a slip-proof bottom and more. Best yet, it’s dishwasher safe and comes with an app that lets you track your daily hydration, transforming your health into a game. $84 MYEQUA.COM
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THE BFF PRO Claiming to be the “world’s best-reviewed” electric deep tissue massager, the BFF Pro is a unique little device that’s designed for athletes. It shortens recovery times, reduces soreness and relieves chronic pain. It works by buffing away aches with a deep massage that relaxes muscles, removes lactic acid and increases blood flow. Even former Olympian Jeff Galloway uses it to improve performance! We love the BFF Pro because it brings the power of professional massage into your home becoming a part of your self-care routine. $300 THEBFF.COM
SKULPT SCANNER Train harder and smarter—that’s what the Skulpt Scanner is all about. It’s a performance training system that measures your body fat percentage and analyzes your muscles for an in-depth, personalized workout plan. Utilizing twelve electrodes, the Skulpt Scanner and accompanying app helps you identify the quality of your muscles so you can improve your overall physique. By using the Skulpt Scanner, you’ll learn which areas need more work, helping you reach your peak performance more quickly and efficiently. $99 SKULPT.ME
HONORABLE MENTIONS But wait, there’s more! We said we’d only cover five items, but we geeked out too hard and found a handful of other tech-themed products we know you’ll love.
UNDER ARMOUR HOVR SONIC CONNECTED
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These $110 smart shoes use sensor technology to track, analyze and store every running metric you could need within a convenient app. underarmour.com
NABOSO
PELOTON
MIRROR
Retailing for $110, Naboso promises to be the only yoga mat you’ll need. The small nerve proprioceptive material helps improve your technique by keeping you grounded. nabosotechnology.com
For $1,195, you can buy the Peloton indoor bike. It comes with live and ondemand classes you can access at any time for the experience of a studio class and the convenience of home. onepeloton.com
The Mirror includes an LCD display, surround-sound speakers, camera and microphone for two-way interactions with live classes. Called the “future of fitness,” the Mirror recently raised $13 million in venture capital for its revolutionary inhome workout technology. getthemirror.com
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T EC H N O LO GY
CUTTING-EDGE PROSTHETICS RETHINKING DISABILITY IDENTITIES WITH 21ST CENTURY TECH P. GOTTI
THE NEXT SEATTLE FOOT
uring World War II, Dr. Ernest M. Burgess fitted disabled soldiers with prosthetics made of wood and leather, painted in skin tones—devices more cosmetic than functional. Based on his war time experiences, Dr. Burgess later invented a breakthrough lower leg prosthetic at the University of Washington called The Seattle Foot, which allowed amputees to run and lead more active lives. Now, advanced prosthetics will return even more function to amputees, and blur the line between man and machine.
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OUR GOAL IS AN INCLUSIVE SOCIETY THAT JUDGES THE HUMAN CONDITION, IN ALL ITS DIVERSITY, AS NORMAL. – DR. BERTOLT MEYER, CHEMNITZ UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY PROFESSOR OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
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H i s t o r i c a l l y, A m e r i c a has led the world in prosthetic research due to funding made available after profitable wars; breakthroughs in prosthetic technology followed the Vietnam War in the 1970s and the Middle Eastern conflicts of the 2000s. In 2017, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) allotted $3.17 billion to projects such as Mobius Bionics’ LUKE arm, a revolutionary prosthetic allowing the user to experience the sensation of touch. Since the 1970s, prosthetics have used sensors on a remaining limb’s muscle tissue to analyze the body’s intent and translate the perceived action to an external prosthetic limb. The LUKE arm and other cuttingedge technologies slip microscopic transponder devices into the brain’s motor cortex to forego interfacing with muscles and take orders directly from the brain, as well as feed the brain sensory information. During the LUKE arm’s public debut, first-time user Kevin Walgamott told The Washington Post, “I don’t know how to describe it except that it was like I had a hand again.” Private enterprise will fuel future innovation once the changing nature of combat (fewer IED injuries, more drones) redistributes military funds away from prosthetics. After the Vietnam War, businesses advanced muscle interface technology toward commercialization; the same processes will advance brain-computer interface devices in the coming decades.
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NAMING THE INCREDIB LE BIONIC MAN In 2013, the Smithsonian selected Germany’s Dr. Bertolt Meyer as the subject for their documentary “The Incredible Bionic Man,” a scientific attempt to use 3D modeling and bionics to create a prosthetic replica of a human being. The documentary earned Dr. Meyer and his bionic counterpart, Frank, a small level of notoriety. Dr. Meyer, a professor of social psychology at Chemnitz University of Technology uses an advanced prosthetic himself—an Össur i-limb quantum, dubbed “the new standard in myoelectric prosthetic hands” by its manufacturers. His own prosthetic hand distinguishes him as a celebrity among social psychologists, and ironically, his research in diversity and changing norms would, if realized, mute the factor that gives him voice. “Our goal is an inclusive society that judges the human condition, in all its diversity, as normal,” Dr. Meyer told us. “Our research found that if you label me as a ‘cyborg’, I’m viewed as a threat, and that’s
bad because people target and harm what threatens them.” Ryan Rosenow is also an Össur ambassador, a showcased user of prosthetic technology, working as a freelance artist in Cincinnati, Ohio. The tactile mediums of wood and leather became his earliest area of study and expertise, despite having just one sensing hand. Rosenow spoke enthusiastically about his next debuting project: a futuristic, Orwellian graphic novel, his first major digital artwork. The idea hatched after he encountered “Petrograd,” a graphic novel depicting the murder of Rasputin, the Russian mystic. Rosenow has made art with just one hand throughout his life. He doesn’t view emerging technology as the proverbial “leg up” he’s been waiting for to advance his art, or something similarly grandiose. Instead, he sees emerging prosthetic technology like Dr. Meyer; he doesn’t want to be a “disabled” or “enhanced” artist— just a good one.
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THE CYBATHLON
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One marker of Dr. Meyer’s inclusive society would be an increased diversity in sporting events, and one such cybernetic athletics summit already exists. In 2020, Zürich’s ETH University and the Swiss National Centres of Competence in Research will host the second-ever Cybathlon, a competition where teams from universities and various corporations produce their own lab-created prostheses and sponsor disabled athletes to compete in a variety of events. The Cybathlon explores the intersection of the disabled body and technology through inventive competitions such as the Exoskeleton Race, the Power Wheelchair Race and the Brain-Computer Race Simulation, which tests competitors in a virtual simulation. In the same way that the Olympics celebrates coexistence among the many peoples of the world, so too does the Cybathlon celebrate the human body in its numerous manifestations. Science, sports and people come together at the Cybathlon to revel in—and bring about—the world of tomorrow.
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FINANCE
WILL THE FREEDOM DIVIDEND SOLVE INCOME INEQUALITY? JEFFREY RINDSKOPF
A
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ndrew Yang has made a living creating jobs. As founder of the nonprofit entrepreneurial firm Venture for America, he’s met with startup owners and helped provide the capital to launch ambitious new businesses across the nation, employing upwards of 2,500 Americans in the process. At some point, Yang realized it wasn’t enough. “It became clear to me that even if these startups were successful, they wouldn’t employ anywhere near the thousands once employed in manufacturing,” he explains. “I’d liken it to pouring water in a bathtub with a giant hole ripped in the bottom.” To try and mend the problem, Yang is running for President of the United States as a Democrat in 2020, with the central tenet of his campaign being a Universal Basic Income (UBI) of $1000 distributed monthly to every American age 18 to 64, called the “Freedom Dividend.” Though the idea of issuing every member of society a recurring stipend to spend as they wish is nothing new—dating back at least to Thomas More’s 1516 novel, “Utopia”—
ASHLEY BELFSKY
UBI proposals like Yang’s have recently gained serious traction globally. The government of Finland launched a UBI trial in January 2017 that gave 2,000 citizens the equivalent of $680 each month, while the Canadian province of Ontario began a similar program for 4,000 residents earlier this year. The nonprofit GiveDirectly is funding the largest and costliest experiment yet in rural Kenya, distributing $30 million in unconditional cash transfers to more than 16,000 people. There’s an underlying fear driving all these ambitious proposals— that of increased unemployment and inequality due to the automation of the labor market already in progress. Since 2000, the United States has lost roughly five million manufacturing jobs mostly due to automation, and research by global management firm McKinsey predicts one in three Americans will be similarly outsourced by 2030 as artificial intelligence advances and the cost of implementation shrinks.
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As with the Industrial Revolution, this seismic shift in technological capability may spark an explosion in productivity. With fewer workers to reap the benefits, however, those gains will overwhelmingly go to the owners of factories and other means of production, further contributing to the inequality gap that’s already driving economic stagnancy and political polarization around the globe. Some of the Silicon Valley bigwigs who stand to gain the most from automation seem to recognize this threat and posit UBI as a potential solution. Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes belongs to a UBI advocacy group called the Economic Security Project, while famed startup accelerator Y Combinator recently began an experiment distributing cash stipends to 3,000 people across two states. These limited trials are chump change compared to Yang’s proposed Freedom Dividend. Supplying ever y American adult with $1,000 a month would cost an estimated $3 trillion per year, which Yang proposes funding through multiple revenue streams. First and foremost would be a valueadded tax (VAT) of ten percent—or half the European level—to more effectively harvest the supply-side gains from automation and generate $700 to $800 billion in new government revenue each year. Yang also suggests additional measures like taxes on carbon or Wall Street speculation and cuts to the national defense budget. The remaining costs would have to be offset by economic growth and reductions to current welfare programs. The former should be no problem, as the Roosevelt Institute predicts the Freedom Dividend would create 4.5 million new jobs and grow the nation’s economy $2.5 trillion by 2025 while reducing the amount spent on incarceration, healthcare and homelessness services. Though Yang favors reforming Social Security and switching to a single-payer healthcare system, he posits the Freedom Dividend as a replacement for most of the nation’s $500 billion welfare state, offering recipients the choice to keep their current benefits or switch over to the $1,000 monthly stipend.
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A UBI does offer many advantages over traditional welfare systems, which are most notable in their simplicity. Placing no conditions on who receives funds or how they spend them cuts back on bureaucracy for the government and gives recipients more freedom and bargaining power in the labor market, while eliminating the incentive to stay stagnant to keep one’s benefits. “Right now, our welfare systems punish improvement in many respects,” insists Yang. “One friend told me he has two sisters on disability, and they’re afraid to volunteer, because they could be deemed able-bodied and stop receiving the payments they rely on.” The universality of the “Freedom Dividend” is meant to eliminate stigmas commonly attached to welfare recipients, but detractors still argue that giving poor people free money will result in more widespread laziness and recreational drug use.
. . . GIVING PEOPLE MONEY WITH NO STRINGS ATTACHED DOESN’T BREED LAZINESS OR DRUG ADDICTION. INSTEAD, IT BREEDS GREATER ECONOMIC EQUALITY AND MOBILITY
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In fact, a study published in the journal Science reveals that stressful conditions of poverty can inhibit cognitive function up to 13 IQ points. According to the World Bank, by reducing that stress, UBI and cash transfer programs improve recipients’ mental and physical health, leading them to make smarter decisions and generally spend less on drugs and alcohol. One 1970s experiment with UBI in rural Manitoba established that the only groups who worked less under the programs were students and new mothers, who spent more time on their studies and families, respectively. These findings suggest that giving people money with no strings attached doesn’t breed laziness or drug addiction. Instead, it breeds greater economic equality and mobility, as those at the bottom of the income ladder are afforded the security they need to make home repairs, pay for childcare, buy new modes of transportation and even invest in new businesses or other forms of economic output that can replace those revenue streams being lost to automation. At present, the research overwhelmingly indicates that by distributing the spoils of our economic progress more evenly, UBI would be a net gain for global society, reducing crime, child mortality, teen pregnancy and unemployment—a rising tide that lifts all boats. Correspondingly, support for UBI among the American public has skyrocketed from 12 percent to 48 percent in the past decade, though there’s still no telling if the current groundswell of support will be enough to overcome the formidable lobbying interests opposed to wealth redistribution and pass meaningful legislation like Yang’s “Freedom Dividend.” After all, we’ve been down this road before. “People don’t realize a form of UBI already passed the House of Representatives in 1971—we’ve just lost our way so badly that today something like that sounds unfathomable,” notes Yang. “Now, we’re going through the greatest economic shift in human history and our government is asleep at the switch. We need to get back to having an invigorated federal government that’s making big bets.”
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HAIL TO THE CHIEF Yang’s Universal Basic Income platform may seem radical to some, but not to us—or to history. Here are some of the more entertaining bids for the Oval Office...pre-2016, of course! We’re not even gonna go there.
FLAT TAX “DORK ROBOT”
THIRD PARTY ODDITY
Steve Forbes ran for President of the United States in the 1996 and 2000 Republican primaries with a “flat tax” platform, but he was just too goofy for some voters; Time Magazine said his campaign was a “comedy-club impression of what would happen if some mad scientist decided to construct a dork robot.”
Ross Perot, a billionaire from Texas with no political experience, was the first thirdparty candidate to be taken seriously by the American public since Teddy Roosevelt. He ran in the 1992 and 1996 Presidential elections with plans to slash the U.S. deficit in just five years.
DIAL 9-9-9 Herman Cain’s 2012 Republican Presidential run focused on a plan he called the “9-9-9 Plan,” a “9 percent tax rate on business and personal income, combined with a 9 percent national sales tax,” according to The New York Times.
AN OFFER HE CAN’T REFUSE Now a longtime California Governor, Jerry Brown ran in the Democratic Presidential primary in 1976. His platform centered on expanding the space program and implementing sustainable initiatives, but voters were too weirded out by his special effects-heavy, 30-min ad, oddly directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
THAT’S NUTS The only successful Presidential candidate on this list, Jimmy Carter had one of the most bizarrelynamed fan clubs—the “Peanut Brigade,” fellow Georgians and grassroots Democratic organizers who supported him in the 1976 election; the name refers to Carter’s family roots in the peanut business.
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REVIEW
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JEFFREY RINDSKOPF
DO PE M AGA Z I N E .CO M
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rt imitates life—or is it the other way around? Either way, there’s no denying how much influence the media we consume can have over the world that we inhabit. No genre better exhibits this complex relationship between imagination and reality than science fiction. Whether working in film, television or literature, science fiction writers use their chosen medium to try and anticipate the triumphs and terrors of humanity’s future. In doing so, however, they’ve often wound up predicting or even shaping the future in unexpected ways. What follows are a few of the most notable examples of science fiction becoming science fact.
2. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
by Arthur C. Clarke
For all his scientific contributions, Clarke is still likely best known for co-authoring the screenplay for Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey,” as well as its companion novel. Both the film and book uncannily predicted one of the 21st centur y ’s m o s t u b i q u i t o u s p i e c e s o f t e c h n o l o g y — t h e i P a d . C l a r ke’s version was dubbed the “Newspad,” and the film’s astronauts are shown in one scene browsing headlines on the sleek, rectangular device.
1. DIAL F FOR FRANKENSTEIN
3. THE WORLD SET FREE by H.G. Wells
Few sci-fi authors deserve as much credit for predicting advances in digital technology as Arthur C. Clarke, whose manuscript, “The Space Station: Its Radio Applications,” first proposed using space stations to broadcast television signals in 1945. Later, his 1961 short story, “Dial F for Frankenstein,” imagined a vast, interconnected telephone network that comes to dominate the world’s financial and military infrastructures. It was later cited as an inspiration by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the chief inventor of the World Wide Web.
Published in 1914, “The World Set Free” found author H.G. Wells imagining a weapon of inconceivable destructive powers, harnessed from the atomic decay of radioactive elements. Wells’ early conception of atomic bombs differed in many ways from those later developed and dropped over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but his vision of an atomic chain reaction directly inspired physicist Leo Szilard, who read the novel in 1932—two years before he patented the nuclear reactor, and seven before he embarked on work for the Manhattan Project.
by Arthur C. Clarke
4. STAND ON ZANZIBAR by John Brunner Originally published in 1968, “Stand on Zanzibar” is set in the year 2010 and gets a remarkable amount right about modern American culture. The nation is depicted as plagued by destabilizing terrorist attacks and violence in schools, while homosexuality has entered the mainstream, marijuana is decriminalized and prices have increased sixfold due to inflation (they actually increased sevenfold). Other eerily prescient elements from the novel include the widespread use of electric vehicles, China rising to become the U.S.’s greatest global rival, and a popular political leader named President Obomi.
5. GATTACA (1997) Cited by NASA as the most accurate science fiction film of all time, “Gattaca” depicts a not-too-distant future in which genetically-engineered designer babies have become the norm, resulting in genetic discrimination and an even more entrenched form of inequality. In this case, science only now seems to be catching up to the film’s predictions, as a new technique called CRISPR is now being developed to help edit out ‘undesirable’ genes in human embryos.
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GLASS
AW GEEZ, RICK! “RICK AND MORTY”-INSPIRED GLASS WIND HOME
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lass artists @rickybobbyglass and @danigirlglass collaborated to make this awesome, fully-functional, “Rick and Morty”inspired glass portal gun rig. The piece has a 10mm joint and comes with a detachable bubble cap; it’s super sturdy and easy to pick up by the handle for use. The bubble cap, as well as a few other parts of the gun, are UV-reactive and glow green under black lights. The piece was made in January of 2018, but already resides in a private collection and isn’t currently for sale. These two artists collaborate quite often, though, so check their respective Instagram accounts for other available pieces. Pew! Pew!
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@RICKYBOBBYGLASS & @DANIGIRLGLASS
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1st PLACE
2nd PLACE
Best Edible:
Best Edible:
Mocha Crunch Milk Chocolate
Milk Chocolate
CANNABIS CUP
CANNABIS CUP
2018
Cannabis
2 0 18
Cup
st Edible Be
bar
2018
100 %
RECIPE
SOUS VIDE CANNA-BUTTER VACUUM-SEALED TO PERFECTION! LAURIE & MARYJANE
D
o you want to prepare canna-butter that’s odor-free and consistent every time? Does your food fantasy life include steak and chicken cooked to absolute perfection? Do you love a crusty sear on your medium rare burger? If you answered yes, you need to get your hands on a sous vide machine. Sous vide cooking immerses vacuumsealed food in a circulating water bath that maintains your desired temperature; this method allows the product to be perfect on the inside while not overcooking the outside. It’s not quick, but it’s easy—and it works every time. Making canna-butter or canna-oil in this manner allows you to set the temp, fill your
bag with butter and cannabis, seal and let the magic begin. Set the temp and slide the vacuum-sealed bag into the heated water; the butter or oil will warm and absorb all the precious cannabinoids and terpenes. If you find that the filled bag floats, attach a clip to the bottom of the bag to hold it down in the water. Alternatively, melt the butter first—it will no longer float. Sous vide machine prices vary, and there are a few types to choose from. I have plenty of counter space and set up the Tribest Sousvant as a permanent fixture, but I have also used the Anova and Joule machines, which are both about the size of an immersion blender.
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LAURIEANDMARYJANE.COM
D O P E M AGA Z I N E .CO M
INGREDIENTS Yield: 10 servings 16 oz 1 oz
Butter, melted Cannabis, decarboxylated
INSTRUCTIONS 1.
Set the temperature for the sous vide machine to 185°F.
2.
Place the butter and the cannabis in a vacuum-seal bag (or double Ziploc bag). Submerge in the heated liquid for three hours. Remove and allow to cool briefly before straining. Keep in the fridge.
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